Celadon Summer Concerts are back, part of a long list of free outdoor summer shows in West Michigan. And today’s the deadline for bidding on some bracing house concerts by acclaimed Michigan bands.
Celadon Kick-Off: The Muteflutes have a new album and are up for auction, too.
Fire up the grills … and the amps.
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As the unofficial kick-off to summer, Memorial Day weekend has music lovers eyeing the flurry – uh, make that, wave – of free outdoor concerts that flood communities across West Michigan, with shows taking place almost every day of the week.
Ribbons of Song: Ben Scott-Brandt and his brother, Jonathan. (Photo/Anna Sink)
View the lineups for these series – from Lowell to Grand Haven, and everywhere in between – in a special Local Spins roundup with schedules that can be saved to your smartphones.
Regional folk stars covering every nook, corner and permutation of that genre also star in this summer’s recently announced Celadon Summer Concert Series in northeast Grand Rapids.
The free monthly concert series gracing the intimate outdoor amphitheater in the Celadon New Town development will kick off on Thursday, June 26, with the folk-rock of The Muteflutes and the atmospheric folk of Ribbons of Song.
The series continues on July 17 with St. Joseph’s Slim Gypsy Baggage, a soulful roots-rock, funk and folk-rock band, with Grand Rapids-area singer-songwriter Tony LaJoye opening the show. On Aug. 14, Grand Rapids’ indie-folk outfit Chain of Lakes closes out the series, with singer-songwriter Mat Churchill playing an opening set.
Chain of Lakes
The 6 p.m. concerts take place in the cozy amphitheater at 2050 Celadon Drive NE (west of East Beltline Avenue NE, near the Celebration Cinema North complex). Admission is free, with food sales beginning at 6 p.m. and the music starting at 6:30 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and beverages for the picnic-style shows, though beverage sales also are available at The Crushed Grape nearby.
For the season-opening concert, The Muteflutes will focus on material from their brand new album, “American Dream,” released earlier this month and first previewed on Local Spins Live. Frontman Micah McLaughlin jokes that the band won’t be unleashing “pyrotechnics or dancers or me being lowered in from the ceiling. But really good music and a great community event? Yes. We have been working on some mashups that are sure to get some smiles and dancing as well.”
Meanwhile, Ben Scott-Brandt of Ribbons of Song says he’s preparing for the show by “polishing up some tunes and annoying my parakeets with lots of echoey vocal washes in my bedroom.” He and his producer/brother Jonathan also recently released “one last song” from the group’s sessions for its “Waterbug” album. Listen to it and download it for free online here and read more about the “band” here.
Get more information about the Celadon series on its Facebook page. And view the schedules for outdoor summer concerts in Rockford, Holland, Wyoming, Fennville, Grand Haven and East Grand Rapids in this Local Spins roundup.
WYCE WRAPPING UP FIRST ROUND OF HOUSE CONCERT AUCTIONS FEATURING RICK CHYME, HEATERS, NATHAN KALISH, MORE
WHAT?!? Rick Chyme and Molly Bouwsma Schultz have separate house concerts up for auction. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
How about starting your Memorial Day weekend by booking a house concert starring one of West Michigan’s most intriguing acts?
Throughout the day on Friday, WYCE-FM (88.1) will wrap up the first round of eBay bidding on house concerts donated by 14 bands and solo artists to raise funds for the listener-supported community radio station. Get the lowdown online at wyce.org.
The first batch of auctions for shows by seven acts will end at various times today (Friday), starting at 10:34 a.m. with Vox Vidorra (Molly Bouwsma-Schultz’s compelling new soul/jazz band project), 10:54 a.m. with singer-songwriter Tony LaJoye, 1:25 p.m. with the eclectic DarlenYa, 1:45 p.m. with hip hop’s Rick Chyme, 1:57 p.m. with folk-rock’s The Muteflutes, 2:13 p.m. with country/folk’s Roosevelt Diggs and, finally, 2:44 p.m. with rock’s Heaters.
Starting bids on eBay for these private house concerts range from $250 to $400.
It’s the first time the station has taken this approach, previously auctioning these concerts by phone, which “proved to be kind of a pain,” according to station manager Kevin Murphy.
Heaters (Photo/Local Spins)
“Using eBay makes the process fully transparent and removes any possibility of human error,” he said, noting bands can easily share the bidding links. “And people don’t have to be listening to YCE at the exact moment that their auction of choice is coming to a close.”
The online listings also specifically outline restrictions set by the bands in terms of available dates and the distances they’re willing to travel for the shows. That eliminates the problem, “which we’ve had before, where someone drops a grand on a house concert, then expects the band to play 100 miles away on a Saturday night at a wedding,” Murphy noted.
As for the bands donating their time to the cause, supporting a station that devotes much of its air time to local music: “They’re usually happy to help out the station in a way that’s often more valuable than a monetary donation they’d be able to make,” he said. “We tried to mix it up a bit this year (with house concerts) and add some newer bands.”
WYCE plans to open bidding in early June for seven more house concerts, these offered by hip hop’s A.B!, folk-rock’s The Crane Wives, singer-songwriters Seth Bernard, Lucas Wilson and Mark Lavengood, alt-country/rock’s Nathan Kalish & The Lastcallers and rock/pop’s Valentiger.
View all of this month’s auctions online at eBay.
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2014, Spins on Music
